Machines for contracting the margins of sheet material



March 19, 1957 H. c. PAULSEN MACHINES FOR CONTRACTING THE MARGINS OF SHEET MATERIAL 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 19, 1956 h u s.

fill/9121 1)!" Hays C. PauZJerL By his Atorr7q arch 19, 1957 H. c. PAULSEN 2,785,422

MACHINES FOR CONTRACTING THE MARGINS OF SHEET MATERIAL Filed March 19, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I l 1 l l In van for H4 275 C. l ad/Jen. fi yhasAztornsay March 1957 H. c. PAuLsEN 2,785,422

MACHINES FOR CONTRACTING THE MARGINS 0F SHEET MATERIAL Filed March 19, 1956 5 Sheets-Sh eet 3 /34\ i /Z2 M hag3 94 w A36 F5 3 \nmu%*fi Inveniflr Hana C. pau/Jen [US/4 fforngy March 19, 1957 H. c. PAULSEN MACHINES FOR CONTRACTING THE MARGINS OF SHEET MATERIAL 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 19, 1956 n Z m P c mm H March 19, 1957 H. c. PAULSEN 2,785,422

MACHINES FOR CONTRACTING THE MARGINS OF SHEET MATERIAL Filed March 19, 1956 s Sheets-Sheet 5 57/ 1/97 OFCVCZf Fig. 7

United States Patent MACHINES FOR CONTRACTING THE MARGINS F SHEET MATERIAL Hans C. Pauisen, Medford, Mass., assignor to United Shoe h iachinery Corporation, Flem'ington, N. IL, a corporation of New Jersey Application March 19, 1956, Serial No. 572,396

9 Claims. (Cl. 12-97) This invention relates to machines for crimping the margins of substantially fiat pieces of sheet material to shorten said inargins thus causing the portions of the material adjacent to the margins to assume concavo-convex shapes. The machine herein illustrated is particularly adapted to crimp and shorten the forepart margin of a shoe upper to impart a prelasted shape thereto thereby facilitating the attaching of the upper to a bottom member such as an insole and the subsequent assembly of such shoe parts with a last.

In the manufacture of certain types of shoes e. g. slip lasted shoes, the upper parts and sole members of the shoe are joined together prior to insertion of a last by which the final shape is imparted to the shoe. Before joining the upper parts with the sole members, especially when the toes of such shoes are closed, it is desirable to impart a prelasted shape to the \forepart of the upper. For this purpose the margin of the forepart of the upper may be cri-mped to shorten it so that the portions of the upper adjacent thereto will tend to bulge and thus be substantially preshaped.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved machine for crimping the margin of a piece of, sheet material. To this end and in accordance with a feature of the invention, there is provided a machine having a work support over which a work piece is fed in a step by step manner, there being means for preventing advance of the work piece during a portion of each feeding step of, a feeding means thus causing a puckering or crimping of the margin of the work piece.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, there is operable, adjacent to the feeding means, means for pressing the crimp formed in the margin of the work, the pressing means operating in timed relation to the feeding means. For causing a permanent set in the crimp, the pressing means is preferably heated.

In accordance with a still further feature of the invention, there is provided means for bulging the workpiece ing various details of construction and novel combinations of parts will now be described with reference to the drawings and pointed out in the claims.

in the drawings,

Fig. l is a view in front elevation of a machine embody ing the invention;

Fig. 2 is a right side elevation of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a section on line I'll- 111 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section on line lVIV of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section on line V-V of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of a portion of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic illustration of the timing of the cams; i

Fig. 8 is a view in front elevation of the operating-elm agents of the machine shown in starting positions; and

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 but showing the working elements crimping the work piece.

For supporting the marginal portion of a normally fiat piece of sheet material, such as the forepart of a shoe upper while the margin thereof is being crimped, the illustrative machine is provided with a work support 2. The work support comprises a horizontal table mounted on a stem 4 which is mounted for 'heightwise sliding movements in a forwardly extending portion of the machine frame 10. The stem 4 is provided at its lower end with a clamp collar 6 on which is pivoted a bell crank lever having a depending arm 8 and a normally horizontal arm 12. The depending arm 8 is pivotally connected by a vertical link 14 to the frame Iii. A spring 16, connected at one end to the link 14 and at the other end to the frame, tends to swing the link to the position shown in Fig. 1 so as to maintain the link and the arm 8 in line and the horizontal arm 12 in raised position, the upward movement of the arm 12 being limited by a stop on the frame. When the parts are in these positions the stem 4 and the work support are maintained unyieldingly in raised positions owingito the arm 8 and the link 14 being in line, but when the horizontal arm 3.2 is drawn down, either manually or by connection with a suitable treadle, the link 14 is swung to the left and the pivotal support of the bell crank lever is lowered drawing down the stem 4 and the work support to permit insertion of the work piece. When the arm 12 is released the spring 16 raises the work support to its operating position.

For guiding the margin of the work piece as it is intermittently fed and crimped the work support is provided with an edge guide 18 having a guiding surface 21 parallel to the direction of work feed, the guide being secured to the work support by screws 23. To prevent rotation of the stem and the work table 2 for maintaining the guide surface 21 parallel to the direction of Work feed, the work table is provided with a depending pin 17 which is received for heightwise movement in a hole 19 in the frame. For forming the portion of the work piece adjacent the margin thereof the work support is also provided with a form 20 secured to the support by a screw 22 and located by a pin 24 in the work support engaging a slot 26 in the form. Thus, as the work piece is advanced along the work support 2, the margin of the work piece is guided by the guiding surface 21 while the portion of the work piece adjacent the margin thereof is bulged to pre-form the work piece as the margin thereof is crimped.

For advancing the workpiece lengthwise of its margin the machine is provided with a feed foot 30 adapted to be moved in a four-motion path. The feed foot is clamped in a holder secured to the lower end of a rod 32, the feed foot being provided with a dovetail projection which fits into a corresponding slot in the holder. The rod 32 is guided for vertical movements in the lower arm of a yoke 34 and has a reduced portion passing through a sleeve 36 which slides freely through the upper arm of the yoke. A spring 38 between collars engageable with the lower end of the sleeve 36 and with the shoulder formed by the reduced portion of the rod 32 acts to maintain the rod 32 and the sleeve 36 in extended relationship but permits downward movement of the sleeve with respect to the rod. The upper end of the rod 32- extends loosely through a sleeve 40 which is positioned between a pair of nuts 42 on the rod 32 and another pair of nuts 44 on the sleeve 36, the sleeve 40 also being pivotally mounted on the free end of an arm 46 fixed to a rockshaft 48 mounted in suitable bearings in the upper part of the machine frame. Another arm 50 also fixed to the rockshaft 48 is pivotally connected to the upper end of a cam follower 52 that encloses at its lower end 21mm 54 (Fig. 5) mounted fast on a main shaft 56 of the machine. As the shaft 56 rotates by means not shown, the cam 54 produces a heightwise reciprocating movement of the sleeve 40 through the above described mechanism. The upward movement of this sleeve is transmitted through the nuts 42 and the rod 32 to the feed foot 30, thus lifting the feed foot positively away from the work while the downward movement of the sleeve is transmitted yieldingly to the feed foot through the nuts 44, the sleeve 36, the spring 38 and the rod 32.

For imparting a horizontal reciprocating movement to the feed foot 30 the shaft 56 has formed thereon an cecentric 58 which carries an eccentric block 60 also received for sliding movement in a slot 62 formed in the yoke 34. A spring 66, extending between the block 60 and a plate 64 which closes the open end of the slot 62, tends to maintain the block at the inner end of the slot. Ordinarily the full horizontal component of the eccentric movement of the eccentric 58 is transmitted to the yoke 34, one stroke being transmitted directly by engagement of the block 60 with the inner end of the slot 62 in the yoke 34 and the opposite stroke being transmitted to the yoke through the spring 66. The horizontal movement produced by the eccentric 58 and the vertical movement produced by the cam 54 are so timed as to effect the desired four-motion feeding movement of the feed foot 30.

For varying the feeding movement of the feed foot a stop screw 67 adapted to engage the yoke 34 is adjustably mounted in a bracket 68 secured to the frame 10. As the return horizontal component of movement of the eccentric 58 is transmitted to the yoke 34 through the spring 66, the stop screw 67 limits the movement of the yoke and the remaining portion of the stroke of the eccentric is taken up in compressing the spring 66 without further movement of the yoke. Thus, it may be seen that by adjusting the stop screw 67, the horizontal feeding stroke of the feed foot 30 may be varied.

For causing the'horizontal movement of the feed foot 30 to be effective to crimp the marginal portion of a work piece W the machine is provided with a holding foot 70.

The holding foot is provided at its lowerend with teeth adapted to engage the upper surface of the work piece along the margin thereof in a location advanced from the feed foot 36 in the direction of the feeding movement of the work piece. The holding foot 70 is mounted on the lower end of a slide bar 72 which is mounted for heightwise movement in a slideway 74 formed in a vertical plate 76 secured to an upper portion of the frame '10. For maintaining the slide bar 72 in its slideway 74 a plate 78 and an angle iron 80 are secured to the front of the plate 76 by screws 82 and 84 respectively. The angleiron St) is positioned near the upper endof the plate 76 and has threaded thereinto a headed screw 86 which extends upwardly through a lug 88 on the upper end of the slide bar 72. A spring 90, interposed between the upper surface of the lug 88 and the head of the screw 86, urges the slide bar and hence the holding foot downwardly against the work piece W. For controlling the downward movement of the holding foot and for raising the holding foot against the action of the spring 90, a cam lever 92 is pivotally mounted on the plate 76 by a shoulder screw 94, the arm 92 having at its opposite end a cam roll 96 riding on a cam 98 fixed to the drive shaft56. Midway of its ends the lever 92 is pivotally secured to the slide bar 72 by a shoulder screw 102. The timing of the cam 93 is such that the bar 72 and its hold ing foot 70 are moved downwardly by the spring 90 duringa portion of the horizontal feeding movement of the feed foot 39 thus preventing movement of the work piece in advance of the feed foot while the feed foot is still efiectively feeding the work piece thus forming a bulge or crimp in the work piece as seen in Fi'g. 9. After a crimp is formed in the work piece the holding foot 70 remains down on the work piece to prevent movement thereof while the feed foot 36 is raised and returned to its starting position. When the feed foot commences its next feeding stroke the holding foot 70 is raised to release the work piece to the feeding movement of the feed foot. Since the holding foot is urged downwardly against the work piece by the spring the holding foot is capable of accommodating work of varying thicknesses.

For setting the crimp formed in the work piece by the combined actions of the feed foot 30 and the holding foot 76 the machine is provided with a heated presser foot adapted to engage the work piece in the space between the feed foot and the holding foot. The presser foot 110 is formed on a depending portion of a member 112 which is pivotally mounted for heightwise swinging movements about a shoulder screw 114 threaded in the frame 10. A spring 116, secured at one end to the frame and'at the other end to an adjustable hook 118 mounted in a lug 119 on the upper portion of the member 112, urges the member 112 to swing in a clockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 2, so that the presser foot 110 is constantly'urged by the spring 116 away from the work piece; For-moving the presser foot downwardly to engage and set a crimp formed in the work piece, the machine is provided with a slide bar 120 which is mounted for vertical movements in a slideway 122 formed in the plate 76 in parallel relation to the slide bar 72. The lower end of the slide bar 120 is arranged to bear against the upper surface of the member 112, the upper end of the bar being provided with a lug 124. A spring 126 interposed between the head of a screw 128 threaded into the angle iron 80 and the upper surface of the lug 124, urges the slide bar 120 and hence the presser foot 110 in a downward direction, the spring 116 being lighter and therefore incapable of overcoming the downward force exerted by the spring 126 but being of sufiicient force to insure that the member 112 is always held against the lower end of the slide bar 120. For raising the slide bar 120 against the action of the spring 126 allowing the spring 116 to become effective to raise the presser foot, a cam lever 130 is pivotally mounted for heightwise swinging movements about a shoulder screw 132 threaded in the plate 76. The lever 130 carries at its opposite end a cam roll 134 which rides on a cam 136 fixed to the drive shaft 56 adjacent to the cam 98, the arm 130 also being pivotally secured to the slide bar 120 by a shoulder screw 138. The timing of the cam 136 is such that the slide bar 120 is caused to be moved down by the spring 126 to force the presser foot 110 against the crimp formed in the work piece by the actions of the feed foot 30 and the holding foot 70, as seen in Fig. 1.

For heating the presser foot to set the crimp formed in the work piece the member 112 has mounted therein heating units contained in bores 152 in the member 112,'the heating units being connected to a suitable source of electrical energy. Thus, after the crimp has been formed in the margin of the work piece by the combined actions of the feed foot 30 and the holding foot 70, the presser foot 110 is moved down against the work piece by the spring 126 to set the crimp in the work piece by the application of heat and pressure.

In the operation of the machine the operator depresses the arm 12 either manually or by a suitable treadle, thus lowering the work support 2 to an inoperative position. The operator then positions a workpiece over the form 20 with the margin of the work piece against the guiding surface 21 of the guide 18. By releasing the arm 12 the table is raised with thework piece by the action of the spring 16 to an operative position where the operating elements of the machine will engage the marginal portion of the work piece. The feed foot 50 commences its horizontal feeding movement being so moved by the action of the eccentric 58 to feed the work piece lengthwise of its margin. Prior to the end of the feeding motion of the teed. st .9 he a act, 0 i meted as. st the Weak n e e 119 s n 2 the t e tact bc'ng allowed to moye down by the contour of the cam 98. "By preventing movement of the work piece in advance of the feed foot 30 while the feed foot is still moving the work piece a crimp or bulge is formed in the work piece as seen in Fig. 9. After the crimp has been formed in the work piece the heated presser foot 110 is moved down onto the upper surface of the work piece to press the crimp against the work support 2 thus imparting a permanent set to the material by the application of heat and pressure. While the holding foot and the presser foot hold the work piece against movement the feed foot 3 3 is moved heightwise by the action of the cam 54 and thereafter is moved horizontally by the eccentric 58 back to its initial position. The feed foot 30 is thereafter moved downwardly to engage the work piece at which time the presser foot and the holding foot are raised out of engagement with the work piece. Subsequent horizontal movement of the feed foot is thereafter free to advance the work piece during the next cycle of the machine.

When the desired portion of the work piece has been cr-imped in the above manner the operator again depresses the arm 12 causing the Work support 2 and the work piece W to be moved downwardly out of engagement with the operating elements of the machine so that the work piece may be removed from the machine.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for crimping the margin of a piece of sheet material, a work support, a feed foot, means for driving the feed foot in a four-motion path to advance a work piece on the work support step by step, and means operable in timed relation to said driving means for engaging the work piece at a locality in advance of the feed foot before the completion of the feeding stroke of the feed foot thereby preventing advance of the work piece and causing the margin of the work piece to be compressed longitudinally.

2. In a machine for crimping the margin of a piece of sheet material, a work support, a feed foot, means for driving the feed foot in a four-motion path to advance a work piece on the work support step by step, means operable in timed relation to said driving means for engaging the work piece at a locality in advance of the feed foot before the completion of the feeding stroke of the feed foot thereby preventing advance of the work piece and causing a crimp to be formed in the margin of the work piece, and means engageable with the work piece after the completion of the feed stroke of the feed foot and operable at a locality between the feed foot and the holding means to press the work piece against the work support thereby setting the crimp formed in the work p ece.

3. In a machine for crimping the margin of a piece of sheet material, .a work support, a feed foot, means for driving the feed foot in a four-motion path to advance a work piece on the work support step by step, means operable in timed relation to said driving means for engaging the work piece at a locality in advance of the feed foot before the completion of the feeding stroke of the feed foot thereby preventing advance of the Work piece and causing a crimp to be formed in the margin of the work piece, a heated tool, and means for operating said heated tool in timed relation to the driving means to cause the heated tool to engage the work piece at a locality between the feed foot and the holding means thereby pressing the work piece against the work support and setting the crimp formed in the work piece.

4. In a machine for crimping the margin of a piece of sheet material, a work support, a feed foot, means for driving the feed foot in a four-motion path to advance a work piece on the work support step by step, means operable in timed relation to said driving means for engaging the work piece at a locality in advance of the feed foot 6 Peters the aqmalstisn 9 e esdiag stake at he. fe d t the e y Pre e n st an as e War ee and causing the margin of the work pieg; to be compressed ii ii i ael y, s id a aster z on he wc k s nnq i a apts? 9 bats? the bcd f t e 0 k P e e adi q n ma n here Wh l the margin 1. 1 s; q mnre sd .1 gitudinally.

5. In a machine for crimping the margin of a piece of sheet material, a work support, :a feed foot, means for driving the feed foot in a four-motion path to advance a work piece on the work support step by step, means operable in timed relation to said driving means for engaging the work piece at a locality in advance of the feed foot before the completion of the feeding stroke of the feed foot thereby preventing advance of the work piece and causing a crimp to be formed in the margin of the Work piece, means engageable with the work piece after the completion of the feed stroke of the feed foot and operable at a locality between the feed foot and the holding means to press the work piece against the work support thereby setting the crimp formed in the work piece, and a convex form on the work support adapted to bulge the body :of the work piece adjacent the margin thereof while the margin is being compressed longitudinally.

6. In a machine for crimping the margin of a piece of sheet material, a work support, a feed foot, means for driving the feed foot in a four-motion path to advance a Work piece on the support step by step, a holding foot intermittently engageable with a work piece at a locality in advance of the feed foot, and means for moving the holding foot into engagement with the work piece before the completion of the feeding stroke of the feed foot thereby preventing advance of the work piece and causing the margin of the Work piece to be compressed longitudinally.

7. In a machine for crimping the margin of a piece of sheetmaterial, a work support, a feed foot, means for driving the feed foot in a four-motion path to advance a Work piece on the work support step by step, a holding foot intermittently engageable with a work piece at a locality in advance of the feed foot, means for moving the holding foot into engagement with the work piece before the completion of the feeding stroke of the feed fioot thereby preventing advance of the work piece and causing a crimp to be formed in the margin of the work piece, and means engageable with the work piece after the completion of the feed stroke of the feed foot and operable at a locality between the feed foot and the holdmg means to press the work piece against the work support and thereby set the crimp formed in the Work piece.

8. In a machine for crimping the margin of a piece of sheet material, a work support, a feed foot, means for driving the feed foot in a four-motion path to advance a work piece on the work support step by step, :a holding foot intermittently engageable with a work piece at a locality in advance of the feed foot, means for moving the holding foot into engagement With the work piece before the completion of the feeding stroke of the feed foot thereby preventing advance of the work piece and causing a crimp to be formed in the work piece, a heated tool, and means for operating said heated tool in timed relation to the driving means to cause the heated tool to engage the work piece at a locality between the feed foot and the holding means thereby pressing the Work piece against the work support and setting the crimp formed in the work piece.

9. In a machine for crimping the margin of a piece of sheet material, a work support, a feed foot, means for driving the feed foot in a four-motion path to advance a work piece on the work support step by step, a holding foot intermittently engageable with a work piece at a locality in advance of the feed foot, means for moving the holding foot into engagement with the work piece before the completion of the feeding stroke of the feed foot thereby preventing advance of the work piece and causing piece, anda convex form'on the woi'k stipportedepted to bulge the body of the work piece adjacent the, margin: thereof while the margin is beingcompressed lo g r ally.

No references cited.

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